But what's most important to me when it comes to decorating - especially since I have a son to whom I did not give birth - is infusing meaning into our décor. I want baby to look around and know where different pieces came from, and that they're part of his story, his history, as much as they are part of mine. I want him to know who he is, regardless of his DNA. And I want people who visit our home to know who we are.
I'll share a few ways I've decorated with meaningful items in our home, and hopefully they'll spark your imagination as to how to do the same in your own home.
- use family furniture first. My beloved maternal grandparents were killed in a car accident when they were 64 and 66. They never even got to see their first grandchild (me) graduate from college, let alone the other graduations and weddings that followed. I am so grateful that I inherited a few pieces of furniture from them - namely, our Thomasville master bedroom set (my parents are from Thomasville, NC). It's beautiful. We also have a pie safe that was made (yes, made) by Jake's great grandfather. I had a friend once tell me she registered for the same piece from Pottery Barn - she was surprised when I told her the origin of ours :) If you have any pieces of furniture like that, use them all around your home before investing in other furniture. Even get rid of some of your more modern pieces in order to make room for family pieces. We use my original baby dresser in our playroom to store toys, though that's not as old as the other pieces, and we purchased an antique armoire-turned-media-cabinet from some friends. Even though that last piece isn't from our family, it tells a story.
- use family pieces as art. We have Jake's great grandfather's tobacco basket leaning against the wall on top of his pie safe. I have my grandmother's sun hat hanging on a wall. I found Jake's silhouette from when he was little in a box, so I framed it and hung it on the wall.
- decorate with words or numbers. I made a super cheap, super easy piece of art representing our anniversary: white canvas and galvanized "Roman numerals" (really just letters) from Hobby Lobby, arranged in an eye-pleasing fashion. It hangs on our living room wall. We also have a Scripture verse handpainted by a family friend on reclaimed wood, which hangs in our dining area.
- decorate with photographs. Probably the most obvious suggestion, but for a long time I actually didn't do this. We now have some wedding canvases hanging in the sunroom/playroom, a family portrait hanging in the living room, and a gallery wall of not-as-pretty-but-still-important photos in the hallway. The last area is where I have framed a picture of my late grandparents, and my late great grandparents, as well as a picture of Jake when he was younger - because baby says "Daddy looks like me here!" I've made a point to try to take Polaroids of significant family events this year to add to the gallery wall so baby sees himself in the pictures, too.
- decorate with other meaningful items. Jake and I have been on two mission trips to Guatemala together, and I had been on a couple when I was younger. We brought a small painting back with us one year and have hung that over the thermostat in the hallway. It displays the painting, and hides an eyesore! Win-win. I have a basket my mom gave that I think is beautiful, so it's hanging on a wall. And I'm anxiously awaiting the shipment of two hymns on canvas I ordered from a deal website. They will hang in our living room opposite the family portrait. Jake made our dining table. Baby and I made our coffee table. Neither table is perfect, but they're special.
How do you infuse meaning into your home décor? Is it important to you to display your family's heritage?
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